Ryan Bailey

GENOVA, Italy — The USA men’s senior national water polo team fell to Italy, 15-14, in a shootout Monday on the first day of the FINA World League Super Final. Each team hit its first four penalty shots, but Team USA was stopped on its fifth try and Italy converted. Former UC Irvine stars Ryan Bailey and Rick Merlo each scored twice for Team USA, and Jeff Powers scored once. Tim Hutten, the UC Irvine senior who recently won the Peter J. Cutino award, also scored twice for the Americans.

TRIO HELPS U.S. WIN Former UC Irvine standouts Ryan Bailey and Jeff Powers, as well as former Corona del Mar High star John Mann helped the U.S. men’s water polo team to an 8-5 win over Croatia in front of a sellout crowd at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village Saturday. Bailey scored twice. Powers and Mann scored one goal each. Tony Azevedo led the Americans with three goals to help them bounce back from a 6-2 loss to Croatia, the top-ranked team in the world, Thursday at CdM. The U.S. win will be aired on MSNBC on June 15 at 9 a.m. — From staff reports

CORONA DEL MAR — The story of how John Mann feared putting on a Speedo never gets old. Mann said he was around 12 when he was introduced to water polo. On Thursday, he returned to Corona del Mar High, the site of his first game. If there was ever another time for Mann to be afraid to throw on a Speedo again, it was this night. In front of an overflowing crowd of around 2,000, Mann and the U.S. men’s senior national team was exposed at the Bergeson Aquatic Center.

Six representatives of the UC Irvine men?s water polo program have been named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation?s 15th Anniversary Team, chosen by conference coaches. Ryan Bailey (1994-98) was named to the first team, while Dreason Barry (2001-05), Omar Amr (1993-96) and current head coach Marc Hunt (1990-93) were selected to the second team. Jeff Powers (1998-2002) was honored on the third team and former head coach Ted Newland was named a 15th Anniversary coach. UCI, UCLA, Stanford and USC all had five players on the first three teams.

The U.S. men's water polo team, which boasts five former UC Irvine players, continued its winning ways Tuesday defeating Kazakhstan, 9-6. Former Anteaters Jeff Powers and Dan Klatt each scored a goal for Team USA (2-0). Powers' seven-meter goal with 5:31 remaining in the third quarter gave the U.S. a 6-4 lead after a sea-saw first half that had four ties. It was Powers' second goal of the Olympics. Klatt's man-advantage goal with 5:24 left in the game stretched the American lead to 8-4. It was Klatt's first goal of the Olympics.

The U.S. men's Olympic water polo team, fired up for its Athens debut, defeated Croatia, 7-6, in the opening round at the Olympic Aquatic Centre Indoor Pool on Sunday night at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The U.S. pitched a defensive shutout in the first half behind a determined stand from goalie Brandon Brooks, who was playing in his first-ever Olympic Games, along with nine other members of Team USA for a 3-0 halftime lead. Croatia rallied, but Tony Azevedo had the last word as his buzzer-beating bullet provided the winning margin.

Steve Virgen Four years ago, Ryan Bailey thought himself to be more of a cheerleader at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Times have changed and Bailey no longer watches in awe of Chris Humbert. Instead, he has all eyes on him as the difference-maker, a two-meter man for the U.S. Olympic men's water polo team. Humbert, who was voted the best two-meter man in the world by Water Polo Magazine following the 1996 Olympics, started ahead of Bailey in 2000, when Bailey was 24. But 2004 is Bailey's show and he said he is excited to be depended on as a scorer.

Steve Virgen UC Irvine men's water polo will be well represented in the 2004 Olympics, as former Anteater standouts Ryan Bailey, Jeff Powers, Omar Amr, Dan Klatt and Genai Kerr are part of the 13-player U.S. team roster that was announced Wednesday at the Charter All-Digital Aquatic Centre in Long Beach. "I think it's really great," said Ted Newland, 76, UCI's legendary coach who is entering his 39th season. "This is the most guys I have ever had on the U.S. Olympic team all time.

Steve Virgen Playing in front of his former college water polo coach and backed by a raucous Orange County crowd, Ryan Bailey said he "had a lot of fun" during a spirited and thrilling FINA World League match between Team USA and Hungary in front of 1,755 Monday at Corona del Mar High. Bailey, a former UC Irvine standout, was also inspired, as he scored a game-high five goals and led the U.S. national men's water polo team to an impressive 11-9 victory over Hungary, the world champion and 2000 Olympic gold winner.